The trophy has not been far from the grasp of captain Ronaldo, with the squad given a stunning reception when they landed at the Humberto Delgado airport, with water in the colours green and red fired over the plane.

The unexpected win over the heavily-fancied hosts sparked jubilant scenes in Lisbon, where tens of thousands of fans flooded the streets, dancing, singing and waving Portugal's red and green flag.

The party continued well into Monday, with Ronaldo's men landing at Lisbon airport at 11.15am to travel to meet president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa at his official residence before embarking on a parade through the streets of Lisbon.

And the president said: "We are the best in Europe. We showed what we are made of: Tough, united, able to overcome all difficulties including the blow of losing Cristiano Ronaldo."

Portugal's dreams of lifting the Henri Delaunay Trophy looked to have taken a shattering blow when Ronaldo, their captain and talisman, fell to the ground in agony in the eighth minute following a clattering challenge from Dimitri Payet.

After twice going off for treatment and trying to come back, Ronaldo was definitively carried off, but for all France's dominance Portugal stood firm thanks to man-of-the-match defender Pepe and a string of dramatic saves from goalkeeper Rui Patricio.

On the game, talisman Ronaldo said: "It was not the final I wanted but I am very happy. It is a trophy for all Portuguese, for all immigrants, all the people who believed in us so I am very happy and very proud."

Portugal's sports press hailed the team on Monday with headlines including "Epic", "Eternal" and "Pride of Portugal".

Portugal's coach Fernando Santos and the other players paid tribute to Ronaldo's role in urging the team not to give up.

Ronaldo returned from treatment at the end of 90 minutes to give pep talks to his teammates.

On Ronaldo's influence on his stunning strike, Eder said: "He told me I was going to score the winning goal. He gave me strength and positive energy."

CR7's tears of pain and anguish as he was carried off turned to tears of joy at the final whistle, and shrugging off his injured knee, the forward danced past reporters with other Portugal players as they left the stadium.

Supporters applaud the Portugal team at departure from Marcoussis near Paris

Ronaldo, who was forced off with an injury in the 25th minute of the final, described the victory as "one of the happiest moments of my life".

But he described France's luck as "cruel" and added "one can always argue about the way they play, but they are efficient and you must congratulate them".

France started the match as strong favourites after beating Germany 2-0 in the semi-final. Antoine Griezmann scored twice in that game to take his tournament tally to six - enough to win the Golden Boot award.